Meatpacking District

The Meatpacking District is a neighborhood of western lower Manhattan, New York City. Development of the district occurred after the American Civil War came to a close in 1865, and multiple-family dwellings were built in the unpopular area. In 1869, an elevated railroad line was built, and the area became home to the meatpacking industry after 1879. By 1900, there were 250 slaughterhouses and packing plants, leading to the neighborhood becoming known as the "Meatpacking District". During the 1960s, the advent of supermarkets led to the district losing its economic superiority over other Manhattan waterfront areas, and the area became a haven for drug dealing and transsexual prostitution during the 1980s. Several sex clubs were opened to cater to the growing gay (especially BDSM) community in the neighborhood, but these would be shuttered due to the AIDS scare during the late 1980s and early 1990s. During the '90s, youths moved into the district and repopulated it, transforming the area. Young professionals and hipsters dominated the neighborhood by the 2010s.